PRO BASKETBALL

PRO BASKETBALL; The Nets Have All The Grit

By SELENA ROBERTS

Published: January 3, 1998

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J., Jan. 2—
The Knicks allowed the Nets to slip into their coveted blue collars tonight.

The Nets turned into a quicker, slicker version of the lunch-pail guys in a role reversal that had to be unsettling for the Knicks. They not only lost, 103-98, at the Meadowlands, but also fell into a tie with the Nets for second place in the Atlantic Division.

So, it seemed for a night that the former behemoths of the metropolitan area are not as invincible as they once were, nor are they as forceful. It was clear in the statistics. The Knicks might not have liked the officiating, but there was no excuse for watching the Nets bully their way to the free-throw line 50 times, while the Knicks stepped up just 20 and hit only 11 of those attempts.

''They got 50?'' Charles Oakley said, somewhat amazed. ''You have to give them credit. They played well. They were the aggressors.''

The Nets (17-13) did not rely on fickle jump-shooting, while the Knicks (17-13) sent up 26 3-pointers but made only 9. Sometimes, riding the caffeine kick of John Starks can lead to such a crash. Starks came out bubbling as he hit his first 3 shots, but ended up just 5 of 14 for the game, including 2 of 8 from 3-point range.

''I think there are times when the worst thing in the world is for us to come out and hit all of our jumpers,'' said Buck Williams (7 points, 6 rebounds), who watched the Knicks make 5 of their first 7 3-pointers. ''I don't think it was the officiating. I don't think we went inside enough. We relied too much on the perimeter game.''

And the Nets took advantage of their passive ways. In doing so, they switched some of this market's attention to their spirited style of play, displaying the grit of a rookie ringer, Keith Van Horn. He was new. So maybe Van Horn did not understand whose turf he was on.

''He showed a lot of heart,'' Allan Houston said. ''He's the big reason they won tonight.''

Ignoring the brutish image of the Knicks, Van Horn was the one grabbing the key rebounds, sticking the deadly 3-pointers over Larry Johnson (21 points) and flying inside to face Oakley without fear in the fourth quarter.

''He was good,'' Knicks Coach Jeff Van Gundy said. ''I didn't like the fact that we bit on his shot fakes.''

Johnson made some solid plays for the Knicks, but he was caught wrong-footed on defense, unable to guard the rookie inside or outside. Maybe the frustration of it all led him to take what looked to be a cheap shot on Jayson Williams, whom he punched in the stomach in the fourth quarter. The officials did not see it, but ''I sure saw it,'' Williams said.

That was how the Knicks unveiled their aggression. It was not evident in the free-throw disparity -- the Knicks did not even go to the line in the first half -- or how the Knicks were outrebounded, 41-35, by the Nets.

There was a fourth-quarter surge by the Knicks, who cut a 9-point lead to 3 points. But the style of the entire game did not fit the Knicks' rugged reputation, one that had begun to fade even before Patrick Ewing had season-ending wrist surgery on Dec. 21. Although they started to assert themselves inside in the third quarter, erasing a 7-point halftime lead by going on a 15-7 run, they were unable to hold off the improving Nets, who are suddenly perceived as a threat to the Knicks' perch.

''We have to establish that we're still the team around here,'' Chris Childs, who had 14 points off the bench, said before the game. ''The Knicks, with the history that we have, are the ones who have had everyone's attention. The Knicks have won championships. If the Nets win one, all that would probably change.''

This game was not about title talk, though. The Knicks, who have been labeled as championship contenders for so long, have to wonder whether the Nets could creep up on their playoff chances.

''Why should we worry?'' Childs said. ''We'll see the Nets again on Wednesday.''

Just another chance for the Knicks to regain an identity that the Nets took on tonight.

REBOUNDS

Dressed in a gray suit, PATRICK EWING sat next to the coaches on the bench. It was his first appearance at a Knicks game since he had wrist surgery. . . . Center CHRIS DUDLEY played with a clear mask to protect his nose, which was broken when Orlando's DEREK HARPER smacked him in the face Tuesday. Dudley's nose was bent like a hanger after that game. ''My wife was glad Dr. Scott was able to straighten it out,'' said Dudley, referring to the team physician, Dr. NORMAN SCOTT. ''I'm glad it's a new year. Hopefully my luck will turn.'' . . . The Knicks are now 7-11 on the road.

Photo: John Starks shooting over the Nets' Sam Cassell last night. (Chang W. Lee/The New York Times)(pg. C6)